Cape Cod Estate Sale

We're getting down to the last bits of business settling my parent's estate. The big thing this week is an estate sale which is being held at their home in Sandwich, MA tomorrow and Saturday, August 1st and 2nd. I brought in Patti and Mary from Seaside Estate Sales to handle the whole thing for me.

They have been amazing - the work they put into it from house visits, cataloging and researching the history of certain items - most of which I didn't know.

For instance that this carving set is from India. I have no idea how my parent's acquired it, it was always just there.

 

This is an 18th century tiger maple drop leaf desk. We have two family stories - one is that my Dad and grandfather found it in a barn sale somewhere and it was painted pea green and together they refinished it. But the other story is that it wasn't painted pea green and was found in an antique shop. Anyway, we've always had it, but none of us had room for it. Hoping it goes to a good home. 

 

 This is a beautiful Hickory Chair camel back sofa from the 70's with original cut velvet upholstery. A new sofa of comparable quality and fabric would be easily $7,000. It would cost about $2,000 to get it reupholstered in a great new fabric. And, you'd never find anything near the quality for $2,000.

 

Like the sofa, this wing chair would be a great buy to have reupholstered. It's Harden from the 70's, original upholstery. 

 

Some pretty cut glass crystal. I almost kept these as they are very beautiful and were wedding presents, but I just have no room. 

These pieces came out of my great grandparent's house and are (probably) 19th century or very early 20th century

 

I just realized I wanted that decanter... well, hopefully it won't sell and I can snag it back.

 

And then random things my Dad collected:

Get more information about the sale and lots more photos here.

It can be hard to see my parent's belongings sold off like this, but in the end, it's just stuff. The important thing to remember are the memories of Sunday dinners and holiday's around the dining table, being allowed to sit on the good furniture (only when dressed up!), drinking my first glass of wine. These memories we take with us. The rest is just stuff that will hopefully find new memories. It's an interesting thing to consider as a designer. I'm in the business of "stuff" and yet in the end, it's not what we truly remember. Perspective...

Nook Cottage: All moved in!

It's been a whirlwind few days as you can imagine - moving out and moving in. I really don't like the moving process. Packing things then unpacking them a few days later isn't like opening presents. But still, I had the help of the wonderful White Glove Moving & Storage in Bourne, MA who were charming and strong! And polite, even when I told them near the end of the truck loading that I was taking the two large (and heavy!) oriental rugs. They earned their money that day.

The outside of my new little cottage needs some work. Its a rental so I'm not going to be doing anything major. But it needs some cuteness and I'll show that soon. Meanwhile, here's the view out one side of my house - which includes the dining area and my home office.

Pretty spectacular, no?

I had previously written about my bedroom plans and was debating which green to paint the walls.

This is where it started.

This is my rendering of the walls in Ben Moore's Grenada Green.

It's darker than I expected, but I'm loving it! My grandmother's oriental carpet just fit in the room. I had to take the closet doors off because they wouldn't open over the rug, but that's ok. Meanwhile, I still have the velvet headboard and chair to come.

Watersedge by Aerin for Lee Jofa will be recovering an arm chair and a headboard.

And for the windows, this Drayton Park in Pear from Robert Allen.

More sneak peeks to come soon!

Meanwhile, my latest post on Williams-Sonoma Designer Marketplace has gone live: So You Want a Job in Interior Design?

Modern Vintage Design Studio - A new shop on old Cape Cod

Before I move off Cape this week, I wanted to go visit a new shop I'd heard about from my landscaper - who is the proud father of one of the shop owners.  Modern Vintage on Rte 6A in Sandwich, MA, is owned by Cara (textile design and sewing) and Kristen (furniture refinishing) who have created a lovely space filled with hand painted and updated vintage furniture, beautiful textiles (including adorable dresses for little girls) and small accessories. They also offer custom hand-painted signs and custom invitation design services, plus workshops and children's birthday parties. This week they are offering a Kids Sew & Craft Summer Camp. Creativity is just pouring out of these young women so definitely check out their website and do stop in when you're next on Cape Cod.

Outdoor Entertaining from New England Home magazine

I was honored to be asked to contribute some of my favorite outdoor entertaining items for New England Home magazine's Perspectives column in the current issue.

Here's the digital edition.

My new book!

Sorry for the bloggy silence. I don't know if I've shared this before, I can't remember, but I have been working on a book! I was hired to do the 6th edition revision and update for the longstanding book "How to Start a Home Based Interior Design Business" published by Globe Pequot Press. I believe I'd bought the 2nd edition back when I opened my business in 2002. Anyway, it's a handy "how-to" manual, one of a long list of similar books for various industries. Today was my submission deadline and I just sent it in an hour ago! What a relief. With everything else going on - selling my family house, moving and decorating my new house, not to mention keeping Mr. RoyRoy sane and entertained through it all - I've had a lot on my plate. Thank God for friends is all I can say!

 

I just found this on Amazon, it's already available for pre-order and the pub date is January 2015.  I'm not sure if this is the final cover art - I was hoping for my own work on the cover... But it's pretty.